Chapter XIV: Section I: ――of the Religion of the Philosophers, and of Some Branches

OF THEIR QUESTIONS.

The distinguished men of that class divide themselves into two sorts: the one are the Oriental, the other the Occidental. As to the religious customs of the Orientals, let it be known, that they are also called _Ravákín_, and in Persian _Keshísh_, “the religious,” _Pertaví_, “the splendent,” and _Róshendil_, “the enlightened,” and in Hindí _Ner mel men_ and _Jókísher_: these names relate to sanctity. The Occidentals are called in Persian _Rah berí_, “way-guides,” and _Joya_, inquirers;” in Hindí _Tárkek_.

As to their tendency and opinions――whatever relates to the creed of the Orientals has already been stated in the chapter on the _Yezdáníán_, who are also entitled _Azarhóshangían_, but all that is attributed to the two sects is symbolical. The ancient philosophers of Greece, down to _Aflátún_ (Plato), were Oriental; it was Araśtu (Aristotle), his disciple, who then took the lead in the doctrine, the centre of which with this class is the argumentative reason. Both sects, by means of their discussions, cannot explain the nature of the self-existing being; the essence, unity, particularity, and all attributes are inherent in his holy nature, as I have said in the account of the religion of the Hoshanganíans. They have said besides: God is the world in its universality, but in its particularity mutable conformably with the whole, as it has been stated in the doctrine of the Yezdánían. They maintain, the work of God is according to his will; he does; if he wills not, he does not; but a good work is conformable to his nature: because all his attributes are perfection, in which sense they draw necessary conclusions with regard to the nature of God.

“The year of God is that which passeth away; and thou shalt
not find a change in the years of God.”

Their creed is: God is not the immediate actor; as it would not be suitable to the dignity of royalty and sovereignty to perform himself every business; but it is proper that he should appoint some one of his servants who, on account of his great knowledge and power, is qualified for business, for the execution of the royal orders and the protection of the subjects. The latter also may, by the Sultan’s order, name another as Vizir or Nawab, for the affairs; every one of these chiefs may instal functionaries or agents; so that the whole administration may be firmly established according to the desire and the order of the sovereign. On that account, God created a first intellect, called in Persian _Bahman_, that is, “supreme soul,” or _Barósú_, or _Ferósu_, or _Serósh seróshán_, and “the science of truth;” he who produced something “new;” he is also entitled “the true man: ‘_God created man according to his image_;’” that is to say, pure, uncompounded, like reason, betwixt necessity and possibility,[107] in the centre between both; necessity is on his right side, possibility on his left; the perfect spirit rises from the left, which is the side of possibility. With respect to truth, the image of man is _âkl_,[108] “spirit of wisdom, the holy spirit, and the image of Eva a perfect spirit: on that account it was said that the forthcoming of Eva took place from Adam’s left side. The Sofis also agree with this, as we find it explained by Shaikh Muhammed Láhají,[109] in his work _Sharah-i-Gulshen_, “the Commentary of the Rose-bower.” Jesus, the son of God, proceeds from this “holy spirit.” When wisdom manifests itself through somebody, it is called his “spirit of wisdom;” and when impressions of sciences in all creatures have penetrated through its mediation, it is named “arrow;” and as the perfection of the lord of the prophetic asylum is a ray of that jewel, it bears the name of “Muhammed’s light.”

“If not for thee, I would not have created the worlds.”[110]

These are the attributes of its nature, and besides these it has many names. By the intervention of the first intelligence came forth the second intelligence, the spirit and body of “the crystalline heaven;” and the soul of the heaven above the crystalline firmament is called “_haváyi mânavi_, “the true soul.” By the intervention of the second intelligence, the third, and the spirit and body of the heaven of the fixed stars were produced. In this wonderful way, intelligences and spirits were formed, until the spirits of the tenth class;[111] among these ten bringers of good news (Evangelists) are distinguished; likewise nine heavens were brought into existence, that they may correspond to nine prophets. From the tenth class of intelligences came forth the matter of the elements, and bodies, and the spirits of elemental existence. The philosophers said, that ten kinds of intelligences are enumerated, not because there may not exist any more, but because these are required; and likewise we want the number of nine heavens, without its being prohibited to add any other. The Eastern philosophers however declare themselves against numbering the kinds of intelligences, because, with them every kind of thing has its god, whom they call “the god of the species,” in Persian _Dára_, the angel of rains, the angel of rivers, to which the following sentence relates:

“Each thing has its angel to whom it is confided, and an
angel descends with every drop.”

The Oriental philosophers hold the bodies to be shadows of the uncompounded lights.

“Seest thou not that God has spread his shadow over me?”

According to the sages, the kinds of intelligences and spirits of heaven are the heavenly angels, who have no body nor any thing corporeal, neither feathers nor wings. When an effulgence of the luminous attributes of the self-existing Being falls upon them, it is by the mediating power of this ray, that deeds of wonderful purity proceed from them; and in this production there is no need of a motion, nor of an instrument, in like manner as in the forthcoming of a work of God his will is sufficient. This meaning has been made intelligible to the understanding of the vulgar by saying, that an angel with feathered wings traversed the distance of a road which could not be travelled over in a thousand years. They say also that Isráfíl is one of the powers of the sun; the angel of death proceeds from Saturn; Míkáil from the moon; and Jebríil emanated from the tenth power of intelligence. As often as, on account of the revolution of the heavens or the motion of the stars, something suitable manifests itself in the elemental matter, compounded and uncompounded, it issues into existence by way of emanation from the superior wisdom; and the revelation of the prophet, and the instruction of the perfect to mankind, takes place by the intervention of the last-mentioned angel. On that account there is an intrinsic connexion between the souls of the prophets and this by-standing angel. According to the Eastern philosophers, Jabríil is a god of a kind similar to human nature, and called in Persian _Wakhshur_, “prophet,” and _Serósh pajám sipár_, “Serosh, the message-bringer.” In the opinion of the philosophers, the crystalline heaven is the ninth heaven, and the heaven of the fixed stars the throne of God. The exalted rational spirit is without an habitation, and, without being in the body, is connected with it, in a manner similar to that of a lover with his mistress. This doctrine is very ancient with the Orientals, as has been stated in the account about the Azar Hóshangían, but with the first master among the learned, Aristotle and his followers, it is a tradition. According to general consent, the soul is eternal.

“Believe not that those who were killed in the way of God are
dead; on the contrary, they are living and nourished at the
side of their Lord.”[112]

To unite the soul with the body is as much as to drive Adam from heaven; to long for the body is to bear the commands of Eva; and to perform bad actions is to eat of the forbidden tree; anger is the serpent; lust is the peacock. They hold that Iblis represents the power of imagination which guides us, and the sensual influence which denies the knowledge of words and things consentient with reason, and contends with the power of reason; that what is stated in the law, that all angels prostrated themselves before Adam, except Iblis, signifies that all bodily powers, which are the angels of the earth, are obedient to the soul of Adam, except the power of imagination, that is Iblis, which is rebellious, and sometimes gets the better of judgment. Reason says, that a corpse is to be accounted a mineral, and no wise to be feared; but imagination says: “this is true; nevertheless we “must fear;” and when one finds himself in a house alone with a dead man, it may happen that his mind experiences an agitation of terror. The Súfis too agree with this, as we find it expressed by the venerable Shaikh Mahmúd Shósterí[113] in a chapter of the _Merát ul Mohakakín_, “the mirror of the investigators of truth.” It is stated in the _Akhván ús afá_, “the companions of purity,” of Mullá Alí, that there were intelligences and spirits which were not ordered to adore Adam, as being of a higher rank, as it is written in the Koran, that God, the All-just, addressed this speech to Iblis:

“Thou art proud; believest thou thyself to be one of the more
exalted beings?”[114]

And this was the occasion on which the angels of the earth were ordered to adore Adam.

The Orientals maintain that when the soul realises, as it ought to do, the conditions of its primitive origin, it obtains emancipation from the bodily bonds, and joins the intelligences and spirits: this exalted dignity is Paradise.

“O peaceful soul, return to thy lord willingly and readily;
and whoever desires to meet his lord, let him perform good
works.”

In this high state it is possible to behold the face of God. There is another sect which asserts, that the All-Just is visible; they say right; because the rational soul sees with interior eyes: another sect which denies the seeing of God is also right; because he cannot be seen with bodily eyes,

“The eyes attain him, and attain him not.”

But the soul which has left the narrow prison of the body, but has not attained the field of its beatifying residence, unites, for taking a seat, with the body of any one of the celestial spheres with which it has some relation; it finds rest in the higher or lower heavens, according to order and distinction; it is engaged in the contemplation of beauteous forms, and the noble endowments of one who praises God in the delight of that sphere, which, with some, means the fancy of a particular kind, and is blessed by the enjoyment of delightful imaginations and representations. What is stated in the code of law, that the souls of the vulgar among the believers are in the first heaven; this is founded upon the words of the prophet.

“His acquisition is but a known place.”

The meaning of this relates to the different degrees of merit.

By “Paradise” is understood one of the heavens, eight of which are counted, and these are beneath the ninth, which is the roof of the Paradise, as it is stated in the traditions. But, when the souls not yet come forth from the pit of the natural darkness of bodily matter, are nevertheless in a state of increasing improvement, then, in an ascending way, they migrate from body to body, each purer than the former one, until the time of climbing up to the steps of the wished-for perfection of mankind, yet according to possibility, after which, purified of the defilement of the body, they join the world of sanctity: and this final migration (death) is called _nasikh_, “obliteration.”

“The verses which we have abrogated, we have replaced by
others.”

Some call this state _Aâráf_,[115] “boundary;” which means a wall between heaven and hell, behind which shall be those who in their conduct fell short of goodness, until the time of being permitted to enter into heaven. If the iniquities of the souls predominate, then, descending, they assume the forms of animals corresponding to their prevailing character: thus, the souls of the powerful malefactors and of the furious enter into the bodies of lions; the proud become tigers; the formidable, wolves; and the crafty and covetous appear as little ants; in this manner they are all ravenous, grazing, flying, creeping; and this state of things is called _masakh_, “metamorphosis.”

“As often as their skin is burnt we renew it with another,
in order that they may taste punishment.”

“There is no kind of beast on earth, nor fowl which flieth
with its wings, but the same is a people like unto you.”[116]

Sometimes, descending, the souls are united with vegetable bodies; and this is entitled _rasakh_, “firmness.”

“Under the form which thy master wills.”

Sometimes they enter into mineral bodies, as for instance into metals; and this is named _fasakh_, “fracture.”

“We let you grow according to your acts.”

The learned Umer Khíyam says:

“Endeavor to acquire praise worthy qualities: for, in the
field of destiny,
Thy resurrection shall be in conformity
with thy qualities.”

This threefold division they call “hell.” The number of the stories of hell, according to the followers of the law, is seven; that of the simple elements, four; and that of the compound elements, three: altogether seven. Every soul, on leaving the elemental world, enters into one of the stories of hell. According to the _Masháyíns_, “Peripatetics,” the human soul which, during its connection with the body has contracted bad habits, becomes afflicted and distressed by the impurity of such human attributes as are accounted defects of the mind: on account of the extinction of sensual pleasure which had grown into a fixed habit, the soul is bewildered, and its base customs and qualities bear manifestly upon it under the guise of a serpent, a scorpion, a burning fire, and by all the torments which are recorded in the law-book, whilst, on the contrary, the noble habits of the virtuous shine under the guise of _Huris_, _Kásurs_, sons, and youths, and in all the blessings of heaven.

_Sirát´_, “the bridge of the last judgment,” signifies nothing else but the temperature of power; as it has been established in the doctrine of Ethics: for instance, the excess of courage is temerity, a deficiency in it is cowardice; a medium between both is valour and, as to keep the middle tenor, is very difficult, this has been emblematized by something which is finer than a hair and sharper than the edge of a sword, and by three arches, which indicate the due mixture of three powers, viz.: knowledge, courage, and lust. Under hell is meant elemental nature.

We shall pass to the interpretation of the gates of heaven, the number of which is eight; that of the gates of hell, seven. It is established that there are five external senses and five internal; but all of them are not apt to perceive without the assistance of inference and imagination; because it is imagination which perceives the forms, and inference completes the perception of sensible things. The two internal with the five external senses, make seven. If they attend not to the commands of reason, each of them goes for imprisonment to that hell which is under the heaven of the moon, and if they listen to these commands, they reach with the ninth rank of intelligence the eight gates of heaven for salvation and emancipation, as well as enter the Paradise which is among the heavens.

“As to him who disobeyed, and preferred the worldly life,
hell shall be his abode; and as to him who feared the being
of the Lord and refused to give up his soul to
concupiscence, Paradise shall be his abode.”

* * * * *

UPON THE ANGELS OF PUNISHMENT.――It is to be known, that there are seven rulers of the world over the seven stars which revolve within the twelve signs of the zodiac; seven and twelve make nineteen, and over these nineteen rulers, that is, managers of the world, are other nineteen inspectors. In the space of the nether earth are seven powers of vegetation, viz.: that of nourishment, watering, birth, retention, attraction, mildness, and repulsion. There are twelve powers of animal life, viz.: five external, five internal senses, and two powers of movement, namely, lust and anger. Mankind, as long as they remain in prison beneath the heaven of the moon, and not severed from sensuality and its ties, is indispensably and continually subject to the impressions of the upper and nether rulers, and to sufferings; but if it rids itself of these conditions, it enjoys freedom in this and in the other world.

_Nakir_ and _Monkir_ point to our praise-worthy or blameable conduct. The body is a tomb, and so is the belly of the mother, and the interior part of the heaven of the moon.

* * * * *

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PAGES OF HUMAN ACTIONS AND THEIR RECORDERS; AND OF
THE DESCENT OF ANGELS AND DEMONS TO THE GOOD AND THE WICKED.

Know that, of every speech or action which is said or done, a mark is made by them; and when, in any one of them a repetition occurs, the mark becomes permanent, as it may be assimilated to what takes place in acquiring a knowledge or learning an art. As the marks of good and bad actions of mankind are determined, so every body shares accordingly pleasure or pain. Words or deeds, one by one, being revealed and described, establish conviction; so that disavowal becomes impossible. This is the office of two recorders, the one of whom stands to the right and the other to the left; whatever of one’s speeches and actions is praise-worthy, this is called “angelic;” and whatever is blameable is named “satanic.” This is what the prophet of Arabia said: “_From goodness arises an Angel, from badness a Satan._” The balance typifies the rule of justice in the retribution of conduct, so that there may not be any disparity; the basins of the balance contain the good and bad actions; if the basin of the first descends heavy, everlasting heaven is bestowed; if it ascend light, hell.

“He whose weight is heavy, shall be admitted to a delightful
life; and he whose weight is light, shall fall into hell.”

Praiseworthy speeches and actions are the properties of dignity, steadfastness and peace of mind; blameable words and deeds belong to perturbation, doubt, and want of conviction; he who acquires composure and dignity of mind, obtains the grace of God; this grace is the treasurer of paradise, who is _Razvan_, “the porter of heaven;” but doubt and perturbation are the leaders to misfortune and to disdain; and disdain is the treasurer of hell, who is called _Málik_, “the keeper of hell.”

* * * * *

AN ACCOUNT OF MOUNTAINS AND SEAS, AND OF WHAT OCCURS UPON THE EARTH
OF THE LAST JUDGMENT.

It should be known, that a mountain can be the emblem of a body, which is as overgrown with wool, and the seas can signify the elements; or it may be proper to call the mountains “elements, which are opaque,” and the seas “the skies.” Besides, from a mountain, bodies can be desired; as it may be the station of angels, and from the sea angels proceed. Attempting to investigate the nature of God we meet with a veil, and this veil is darkness. The only light we find is, that whoever travels over the stages of materiality and spirituality, attains rest in the seat of purity,

“Near the mighty King.”

The veils of darkness are like colored wool raised up.

“The mountains shall become like carded wool of various colors
driven by the wind.”[117]

He lifts up the immense veil before the light, as then the contradiction, the mutual opposition, and the unsuitableness of conduct which arises from the sensuality of the body, vanish at the passing away of the body; conformity and concord, which belong to unity and harmony, manifest themselves; certainly nothing of repugnancy and no sort of apprehension remains; the poison of serpents and of scorpions is no more; the wolf associates with the sheep, the falcon with the little partridge, and confidence between those who feared each other, appears;

“When the animals will unite.”

When there is no body, there is no death. This is what the prophet declared: “On the day of resurrection death will be summoned and annihilated;” he likewise said: “On the day of the last judgment hell will be made visible:

“Hell manifests itself to whosoever looks.”

On no other day but this, hell, as it is, can be seen; because one who is plunged in the ocean, how can he see the ocean? It is when he rises above the waves that he can distinguish them:

“A spirit appears better on the border of an expanse.”

I have now given an explanation about the streams of heaven and hell; the pleasures and pains during the time of the soul’s progress and regress. The running streams signify life, which the celestial community enjoys; milk is the cause of nourishment in early infancy, and is more excellent than water; because, although its use be at times salutary for all, yet, in different circumstances, it is not so for all. Rivers of milk signify rivers of knowledge for noble persons; they proceed from the origin and development of sciences, and from these rivers is derived the enjoyment of the celestial beings, whose state may be compared to that of infancy. Honey is the cause of recovery to the sick and afflicted, and is more excellent than milk, because its advantage is reserved to a certain number only; and rivers of honey in heaven are emblematical of rivers of noble sciences; and the enjoyment of the select in heaven is derived from these rivers. Wine is the cause of the removal of terror, and fear, and sadness; and is more excellent than honey, because it is prohibited to the people of the world, and permitted and legal to the inhabitants of heaven; and it is a purifying draught of the water of Paradise:

“Their lord made them drink a purifying beverage.”

And rivers of wine in heaven signify rivers of knowledge, for the nobles, among noble personages, and their enjoyment in heaven is derived from these rivers:

“There will be rivers of limpid water, and rivers of milk,
The savor of which shall not be altered; rivers of wine
Will be a delight to those who drink of them;
And there will be rivers of purified honey.”

For the inhabitants of hell are four rivers, in opposition to those in heaven; they are called “that of heat; that of water, blood, and matter; that of liquid pitch: and that of poison;” that is to say: death, ignorance, simple ignorance, and compound ignorance; for it is said:

“These are the similes which we propose to men; the wise only
understand their explanation.”

* * * * *

ACCOUNT OF THE TREE _TUBA_, WHICH IS IN HEAVEN, AND THE TREE
_ZAKUM_, WHICH IS IN HELL.

It is to be known that _Túba_[118] is a celestial tree which sends branches into every corner of heaven; and this is an emblem of the tree of wisdom, from which branches extend to every corner――to any body, whether it be elemental or imaginary; that is to say, to every mind which is illumed and warmed by a ray of the sun of wisdom; it is by this light that his speech and conduct answer the exigency of wisdom, and that he considers well the end of his actions; so that he has never to repent of any one of his words or deeds, which is a sign of knowledge.

The tree _zakúm_[119] represents the tree of nature, a branch of which extends to every corner, that is to say, whatever power a man (actuated by it) exerts, he never considers the end of the action which he does, and has therefore always to repent of his words and deeds, which is a sign of ignorance.

As to an explanation about the Har and Kasur, it is to be known that both names relate to secrets of hidden things and sciences, which are concealed from the eyes of the profane by a veil, or by the pavilions of sublimity:

“The Hur and Kasur are concealed in the pavilions.”

The hand of men with an elegant and fanciful conception has never reached, nor shall ever reach, them.

“Nobody has ever touched them before, neither men nor genii.”

For these Hur and Kaśur belong to men endowed with sanctity and truth; as often as these perfect personages approach them, they find also virgins, and enjoy each time a pleasure such as they never had before; because each time they meet with the beginning of a new meaning, finer than the former, although they obtain these objects before their death.

It has been stated by some sages that, when they were intent upon some high undertaking, they declared after its conclusion: “How can emperors and their sons enjoy such a happiness, which is still to be increased when all impediments will be removed.” Know, men attached to exterior evidence said, that whatever is commonly believed of the last judgment, and what is connected with the soul of the world, implies nothing else but that, from the time when the Almighty God brought forth out of nothingness into existence, the heavens, the stars, the material bodies, the three kingdoms of nature, and the essences, the duration of the world shall extend to that period when he will again plunge the whole into non-existence, and this shall be “the other world.”

The learned say besides, that the composition of the human body, and its conjunction with the soul, make but one period of time, although birth and life appear two distinct periods; the one comprising the sensible and perceptible world, the other the rational and intellectual world: for

“Whoever is not born twice, shall not enter at the same time
into the kingdom of heaven and that of the earth.”[120]

This is the speech of the Lord Jesus, and with him the present and the future world have also a twofold signification, also both a particular and a common one. As to the particular――there is something external and internal in every one; body and soul in every one; this is his present and future world. As to the common signification――there is an external and an internal world, that is, the material world is the present, and the future is the internal world. As to what is stated in the ostensible law, that the earth has seven stories and the heaven also seven, the interpretation of this is, that the earth is divided into seven regions, whence is concluded that the heaven also is divided into seven, separate from which they account the _Kersi_ or _Arsh_, that is the ninth heaven. As to what is said, that on the day of resurrection the heaven will be folded together,

“On the day on which we shall fold the heavens, as the angel
folds the book (of good and bad actions of men), we shall
replace them as they were formed at the beginning of the
creation. The heavens will then be folded by his grace,
power, and strength,”

And the earth changed into another.

“One day we shall change this earth into another earth.”

And after this change the earth and heaven will be annihilated; the earth will be like pure silver, and upon this earth no sin whatever will be committed: in all this, the day of resurrection, heaven, and hell are rendered present. As to what is asserted that this earth will be changed into another――the Orientals say, this is meant to relate to a vision which is called the region of symbolic truth. And the rendering present heaven and hell; this also refers to an attribution of good and bad. Whoever assumes the form of Hur or Kásur, serpent or scorpion, is rendered happy or miserable. As to the transmutation of the earth――this needs no interpretation: what wonder is it that the culture of a region passes into that of another country; and the passage from the region of the sensible into that of allegory is evident in the transformation of the folded heavens. It has also been maintained that “the book of God” is one thing, and “the word of God” another: because the word is derived from the world[121] of commands, which has its purport from the invisible and rational world; whilst the book is from the world of creatures; that is, the material world; the word, when written down, becomes a book; a command which is brought to pass becomes an action; and this is, with these believers, the meaning of the words: _Run fa yakun._

“(God said) ‘Let it be,’ and it was.”

The world of command is devoid of contradiction and multiplicity; it is pure in its essence but the world of creatures contains contradiction and multiplicity, and no atom of all atoms of beings is out of the material world.

“There is nothing fresh or dry but in the true book (the
Koran).”

Besides, the world of forms and of perceptible things is to be considered as the book of God, and every thing as a _Surah_, “a chapter,” of the Surahs of this book; the alternation of days and nights, the changes and alterations in the horizon and in the phenomena are the vowel points of this book; the days and nights of this book, Surah after Surah, verse after verse, letter after letter, follow each other, as in writing the lines are read in succession; thus thou proceedest, from line to line and from letter to letter, until thou findest the meaning which is hidden in the subject of the words and expressions, until thou knowest and renderest evident to thyself the purport of the book:

“We shall show our verses (of the Koran) in the horizon (every
where), and in their souls, until it become evident to them
that it is the truth.”

And when thou understandest the book and hast satisfied thy desire, certainly the book is then closed and put out of thy hand.

“On the day on which we shall fold the heavens, as the angel
folds the book――the heavens will then be folded by his
grace, power, and strength.”

And it was said, “On the right hand,” that it may be manifest, that those who are at the left can have no share in the possession of heaven.

The change of the earth is thus interpreted, that mankind has two states: at first a terrestrial body and a heavenly nature, subject to the dictates of passion and of lust; and in this state all creatures are in the troubles of imagination, and pride, and conceitedness. Then takes place the first blast of the trumpet for the sake of rest, in order that the terrestrial, who are subject to the qualities of the body, and the celestial, who possess those of a higher nature, may both of them become dead to the troubles of imagination, pride, and conceitedness, unless a few of the qualities of the former state remain alive; as this, on account of these very qualities, may be indispensable by the power of necessity.

“And the trumpet was blown, and all the beings who were in
heaven and upon earth were troubled, except those whom God
willed (that they should not).

The second blast of the trumpet will be for recalling all men to life, so that the terrestrial, who are endowed with the qualities of nature, may resuscitate from the death of ignorance and the sleep of heedlessness, and rise up; that they may avert their face from material objects and bodily pleasures, which are understood under the name “world,” and devote themselves to reasonable pursuits and spiritual enjoyments, which are essential, so as to know every thing in its real nature: which is

“Then the trumpet shall be blown, and instantly they shall
resuscitate, and see.”

In this state, the body, world, and the nature of reason and law, are broken.

“The earth was illumed by the light of his Lord; he placed
the books, and he brought the prophets and the witnesses.”

Then the earth of darkness shall be changed into the world of light, and the heaven of nature into the sphere of spirits:

“On the day on which the earth shall be changed for another
earth, as well as the heavens; and it shall then be known
that there is but one God, the Almighty.”

The obscuration of the stars, and the extinction of the sun’s and the moon’s light are interpreted, that the stars signify the external and internal senses, each of which is in its corresponding sign in heaven; the spirit of animals and the light of the moon are referred to the light of the soul; as the human soul has in fact no light of its own, but solicits an abundant loan of it from the sun of reason, and diffuses it according to its own deficiency. It is said, that when the human soul manifests itself, then sensuality remains out of its action;

“When the stars shall be obscured;”

And when the light of reason breaks forth, then the human soul also is dismissed from its action, and when the benefitted unites with the benefactor, then an incomparable form shows its face;

“He reunited the sun and the moon.”

And when the light of God shines forth, that is, when “knowledge is infused,” which is equivalent to revelation, manifesting itself, then reason and sight are removed from the action, which they call

“When the sun shall be folded up.”[122]

There are fifty stations in the field of judgment:

“Present is the Creator and the master;
At every station another question;
Whoever gives his answer with justness
Shall reach his station with rapidity.”

The stations are in their order as follows: five external and five internal senses; seven powers of passion and lust; three spirits of nature, that is, of minerals, vegetables, and animals; four humors; three kingdoms of nature; four elements; eight temperatures; seven forms of imagination; the other four will be stated on another occasion.

The book of God signifies knowledge. As to the last judgment and the resurrection of bodies, intelligent men said, that each atom of the atoms of a human body, which are dispersed, will be all collected on the day of resurrection, and restored to life, and at this hour there will be no question put about any thing done, but what is come to us from the prophets and saints, this we must believe. The learned say besides, that the question is here about the soul, which on the day of resurrection returns (to its origin), and this substance is pure, and does not require to be suitable to any dimension, color, or place, but is independent of all these, and on that account fit for sciences and knowledge of all things; its extreme excellence is to be able to collect for review all things from the first origin to the last extremity, and to know that whenever it attains that degree of perfection, it has returned to the place of its origin; and this is the knowledge of purity, which is remote from the defilement and mixture of what is material. The learned assert besides, that _the night of power_, “the night on which the Koran was sent down,” refers to the beginning, and the day of resurrection to the place to which one returns; because the nature of night is to conceal things of which few may have information, and the nature of day is to bring to view things of which all may take notice. Further, the whole of the notions and powers of primitive creation is contained in the knowledge of God, who is understood under the name of “primitive, permanent, and predestinator.” Every body possesses not this knowledge; it was then on account of the belief that the predestinations were concealed in it, that “the night of power” was said to be “primitive,” and as in the place to which one returns (that is at the resurrection) every thing concealed shall become manifest, and every one be informed of it, on account of this belief, this place was referred to “day.” As on this day, all are to rise from the tomb of the body, and to awake from the sleep of heedlessness, it was called “the resurrection.”

According to the learned, Kâbah (the square temple at Mecca) is an emblem of the sun, on which account it is right to worship it; and the well _Zem zem_[123] signifies likewise “the great luminary,” as _Hakím Khákání_ said relatively to both:

“O Kábah, thou traveller of the heaven!
O Zem zem, thou fire of the world!”

_Hajer ul ásvad_, “the black stone at Mecca,” represents the body of Venus, which on the border of the heavens is a star of the planets. Some have interpreted the resurrection of the bodies in the sense of the learned, who referred it to the revolution of the heavens, and to the influences of the stars upon the terrestrial globe.

“Every external form of things, and every object which
disappeared,
Remains stored up in the storehouse of fate;
When the system of the heavens returns to its former order,
God, the All-Just, will bring them forth from the veil of
mystery.”

Another poet says:

“When the motion of the heavens in three hundred and sixty
thousand years,
Shall have described a minute about its centre,
Then shall be manifest what had been manifest before,
Without any divergence to the right or to the left.”

The great revolution with them, according to the word of _Berzasp_, the disciple of Tahamúers, is of three hundred and sixty thousand solar years: that is, as the motions of the heavens take place in a circle, their positions are necessarily determined; when, according to that revolution, the positions of the heavens manifest themselves so that from the contiguities, the _adwár_ and _ikwár_,[124] “the cycles,” the _zatk_ and _fatk_, “the shutting and opening,” from the conjunctions of the whole and from the unions, all parts of the phenomena show the very same necessarily determined position, in its reality without increase and decrease. In the books of the Persian sages is stated that, as the motions of the heavens are circular, certainly the compasses return to the same point from which the circumference began to be drawn, and when at a second revolution the compasses run over the same line upon which the former circumference was drawn, undoubtedly, whatsoever has been granted in the former circumference, shall be granted again; as there is no disparity between two circumferences, there will be no disparity between their traces; because the phenomena, having returned to that order in which they were found in the beginning, the stars and heavens, having made their revolution about the former centre, the distances, contiguities, appearances, and relations having in no aspect been contrary to the former aspects, certainly the influences which manifested themselves from yonder origin shall in no manner be different.

This is called in Persian _mahín cherkh_, “the great circle;” and in Arabic _dawrah-i kabra_.

Fárábi[125] says: the vulgar form to their own sight their belief according to the shape of their imagination, and will continue to form it so, and the place of their imaginations will be a body of the heavenly bodies. The venerable Shaikh Maktul tends to establish in his demonstrations, that the heavenly bodies are places of imaginations of the inhabitants of heaven, and that beneath the heaven of the moon, and above the globe of fire is a spherical body, without motion, and this is the place of the imaginations of the inhabitants of hell.

It is to be known, that this sect hold the world to be eternal, and say that, as the sun’s light is to the heaven, so is the world to God. Nothing was that had not been, and nothing will be that is not. Further, according to the expounders of theological law, the world is a phenomenon of time. The philosophers assert, the meaning of that phenomenon is “procreation;” and the phenomenon of procreation is not contradictory to “permanency;” infinite permanency coalesces with time.

[107] امكان _imkan_, “possibility,” signifies that, the
existence or non-existence of which, is the necessary
consequence of the essence of a thing. The philosophers
distinguish by name four sorts of possibility: 1. _imkan
zati_, “possibility with respect to essence;” 2. _imkan
istidadi_, “possibility by disposition,” also called
_mokúni_, “eventual;” 3. _imkan khaz_, “special
possibility;” and 4. _imkan âam_, “general
possibility.”――(See on this subject _Jorjani’s Definitions,
Notices et Extraits des MSS._, vol. XI pp. 82-83.)

[108] The word _âkl_ has a manifold and therefore often
vague meaning; it corresponds sometimes to Holy Ghost. I
thought it right to translate it hereafter by
“intelligency,” in the double acceptation of “unbodied
spirits” and “wisdom;” and also by “reason.”

[109] His whole title is _Shemseddin Muhammed ben Yahja, ben
Ali Lahjáni_, a native of Lahjan, a town in the province of
Gilan. He wrote in A.D. 1474 a work under the title
_Mefat-i-hul âjaib fi sherh-i-Gulshen-raz_, “the Key of
Marvels, in explanation of the Mystery of the Rosebower.”
The latter work was quoted vol. I. p. 82.

[110] See vol. I. p. 2. note.

[111] I shall attempt to sketch, in the smallest possible
compass, the fundamental ideas of Asiatic cosmology, which
are rather confusedly stated in the text.

According to the Dasatir, God created primitively,
immediately, and singly, _the supreme intelligence_; this
produced the _second intelligence_, with the primitive soul
and body; the second intelligence brought forth the third,
and the corresponding heavenly sphere, with soul and body;
and so down to the tenth intelligence, to wit that of _human
reason_. The modern Orientals kept the first-born supreme
intelligence, which to the Muhammedans was sanctified by the
verse of the Koran, saying: _The first being which God
created was intelligence_, and established a double series
of descending intelligences and ascending heavenly spheres,
as follows, according to the ancient and modern system:

COSMOLOGY

OF THE DASATIR. OF THE MODERN ORIENTALS.

_Intelligences._ _Spheres._

The Ist
intelligence.
II The Ist The IXth The uppermost
intelligence. heavenly sphere. Heaven.
III II VIII That of the zodiac, or
of fixed stars.
IV III VII That of Saturn.
V IV VI Jupiter.
VI V V Mars.
VII VI IV the Sun.
VIII VII III Venus.
IX VIII II Mercury.
X IX I the Moon.
XI X The human. the Earth.

The difference between the system of the Dasatir and the
latter consists only in this: that the first enthrones the
first supreme intelligence, or reason, above all nine
heavenly spheres, and assigns to the second intelligence
with its soul and body the ninth sphere, in which the latter
system places the first intelligence, and the third
intelligence corresponds to the eighth sphere, and so on;
each intelligence is placed in the first system, one sphere
higher than in the latter; so that the numbers of
intelligences and spheres, counterparts of each other, do
not form a perfect _Dekas_, which mutually meets in the
sacred number _five_, but they make an Endekas. Besides, the
Muhammedan philosophers call the soul of the second
intelligence “the truth of truths,” and identify it with
Muhammed, who is said to have declared: _The first being
which God created_ _was my light._――(See upon this subject
_Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatur_. 1823. _Erste
Hälfte_, pp. 313, etc.)

[112] Koran, chap. III. v. 163.

[113] _Shosterí_, or _Tosterí_, “native of the town of
Shoster or Toster,” is the surname of Abu Muhammed (above
Mahmud) _Sahal Ben And_. He is reputed as one of the
principal chiefs of the Sufís; he was a disciple of Zu al
nun, and condisciple of Jionaid. He died in his eightieth
year, in the year of the Hejira 283 (A. D. 896).

[114] See pp. 8-9, note 2.

[115] _Aâráf_, the plural of _ârf_, from the verb _arafa_,
“to distinguish between two things, or part of them:” some
interpret it as above, “a wall; any thing that is high
raised, as a wall of separation may be supposed to be.” In
the Koran, chap. VII. entitled _Al Aâráf_, v. 44, it is
called “a veil,” to wit: “Between the blessed and the damned
there shall be a veil, and men shall stand on _Al Araf_, who
shall know every one of them by their mark, and shall call
unto the inhabitants of Paradise, saying: ‘Peace be upon
you:’ yet they shall not enter therein, although they
earnestly desire it.” It appears a sort of purgatory for
those who deserve neither hell nor heaven. In this sense it
is taken above. Others imagine it to be a state of limbo for
the patriarchs and prophets, or for the martyrs and saints,
among whom there will also be angels in the form of men.
But, on the day of universal judgment, all those who are
confined in this place shall prostrate themselves in
adoration before the Lord, and hear these words: “Enter ye
into paradise; there shall come no fear upon you, neither
shall ye be grieved.”――_Ibid._, v. 47.

[116] Koran, chap. VI. v. 38.

[117] Koran, chap. CI. v. 4.

[118] _Túba_, says Herbelot, according to the Commentators
of the Koran, is a word derived from the Ethiopian language,
and means properly “eternal beatitude.” The Tuba, as the
heavenly lotos tree, or tree of life, occurs in all
mythologies, in the Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, and
Scandinavian. This tree is represented upon the coffin of a
mummy which exists in the imperial cabinet of Vienna; a
deity pours out from its branches the paradisiacal fountain,
which, according to the Muhammedans, issues from the roots
of the tree of life.――(See _The Mines of Orient_, vol. V.)

[119] This tree is imagined to spring from the bottom of
hell. There is a thorny tree, called _zakúm_, which grows in
Tahâma, and bears fruit like an almond, but extremely
bitter; and therefore the same name is given to this
infernal tree.――(See Sale’s _Koran_, pp. 104, 310.)

[120] This seems an incorrect quotation from St. John’s
Gospel, chapter III. verse 3, which is as follows: “Jesus
answered and said unto him (Nicodemus): Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.”――Further, v. 5: “Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”――V. 6: That which is
born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the
spirit, is spirit.”――V. 7: “Marvel not that I said unto
thee, you must be born again.”――V. 8: The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is every
one that is born of the spirit.”

[121] The word _âalem_, “world,” has here (as it occurs with
the corresponding Sanskrit word _loka_) the meaning of
state, “condition.”

[122] Koran, chap. LXXXI. v. 1.

[123] A well at Mecca, see this vol., p. 14-15, note 1.

[124] ادوار و اكوار are the cycles or revolutions of years,
according to which the astrologers pretend to prognosticate
the accidents of human life. Every _adwár_ consists of 360
solar years, and the _ikwár_ of 120 lunar years; the whole
art consists in finding the combination of these years, and
their respective relations.

[125] _Abú Naśr Muhammed Ebn Turkhan al Fárábí_, a native of
_Farab_, a town situated on the occidental confines of
Turkestan, afterwards called _Otrar_. He is esteemed as the
greatest philosopher among the Muselmans, and at the same
time the most detached from the world. To him is attributed
the translation of Aristotle’s Analytics, under the title of
_Anoluthica_. Avisenna confessed to have derived all his
science from him. Ghazali counts Fárábi and Avisenna among
the philosophers who believed the eternity of the world, but
not without a first mover, which doctrine is believed by the
Muselmans to be atheistical. Fárábi died in the year of the
Hejira 339 (A. D. 950), according to Ebn Chal and Abulfeda,
quoted by Pococke (p. 372); according to Herbelot in Hejira
343 (A. D. 954).